Nutrient Density

When looking at nutrition for health it is important to have a wide variety of foods you consume throughout the week in order to make sure you are getting plenty of different vitamins and minerals from your food. Taking supplements (multi-vitamins and others) are fine as long as we consider them supplemental. Taking a pill is not the same as eating real whole foods. Here is a list of some examples of foods that provide a good amount of micronutrients!

Calcium:

Collard greens, turnip greens, kale, okra, Chinese cabbage, dandelion greens, mustard greens and broccoli

Magnesium:

Spinach, beet greens, okra, tomato products, artichokes, plantains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, collard greens and raisins, avocados, dark chocolate, quinoa, nuts/seeds

Potassium:

Tomato products, raisins, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, papaya, oranges, bananas, plantains and prunes

Vitamin C:

Red peppers, green peppers, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, strawberries, brussels sprouts, papaya and pineapples

 Vitamin K:

Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens and brussels sprouts

Iron:

Dark chocolate, dried fruit (apricot, raisins), enriched/fortified whole grains, fish (oysters, sardines, tuna), grass-fed beef, legumes (lentil, kidney bean, soybean, chickpea), nuts and seeds (almond, cashew, pistachio, pumpkin and sunflower seeds), potatoes, spinach, tofu, tomatoes 

Selenium:

Brazil nuts, brown rice, eggs, chicken, turkey, halibut, sardines, shrimp, tuna, oysters, spinach

Zinc:

Grass-fed beef, chicken, oysters, shrimp, mussels, Alaskan crab, chickpeas, lentils, beans, seeds (pumpkin, hemp, flax), nuts (cashews, almonds, peanuts, pine nuts)